Some subjects need care. With either…or and neither…nor, the verb agrees with the nearer subject: “Either the dogs or the cat has eaten the cake.”
“A number of students are absent” is plural (it means many), but “The number of students is rising” is singular (one figure). Phrases such as along with and as well as do not make a subject plural: “Physics, along with chemistry, is taught in the lab.”
Uncountable nouns such as news, evidence and information take singular verbs: “None of the evidence was convincing.”
Worked example
Choose: “The number of cyclists ___ increasing.” (is / are)
- The subject is the number: a single figure.
- A single figure takes a singular verb.
Answer:The number of cyclists is increasing.
Key words
- collective noun
- a noun for a group, like team
- uncountable noun
- a noun with no plural, like news
- nearer subject
- the subject closest to the verb
Practise this
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